Gauge



J. REEF Jan. 24, 1967 GAUGE Filed May 21, 1964 FIGJ.

FIG.6

FlGuS FIG.2.

FIC5.4

FIG.3

AT TORNEVS 3,299,516 GAUGE Jan Reef, 41520 8-Mile Road, Northville. Mich. 48167 Filed May 21, 1964, Ser. No. 369,253 4 Claims. (Cl. 33-147) This invention relates to an improved gauge wherein the gauge frame is of a U-shape, and a blade is mounted upon each arm of the frame adjacent to its end and projects into the space between the arms. One of said blades is slidable toward and away from the other blade, and a dial indicator is provided to register the movement of the slidable blade.

An object of this invention is to provide a gauge of the character specified wherein the slidable blade is disposed within a channel guide for slidable movement, and ball bearings are mounted between each side wall of the guide and the adjacent edge of the slidable blade to facilitate accurate easy movement of the blade.

Another object is the provision of a gauge of the character hereinabove set forth wherein the guide for the slidable [blade is a separate guide channel element, which element is mounted upon and carried by one arm of the frame and one or both side walls of said channel guide element is tensioned toward the blade so as to exert a pressure thereupon through the ball bearings whereby the blade is freely supported for slideab-le movement without any undesired wobble or play.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a United States Patent gauge assembly of the character hereinabove specified set forth is that the guide channel element has the outer face of the base of the guide channel undercut and means is provided to act upon the base of the guide channel to urge one or both side walls thereof toward the slidable blade to maintain a pressure thereupon through the ball bearing assemblies. able play while permitting free movement of the blade.

A meritorious feature of the invention is that the guide channel element is undercut linearly of the base of the guide channel and preferably the undercut decreases in depth from the longitudinal center line thereof toward the longitudinal margins of the base of the guide channel, and means is provided acting upon the under side of the base of the guide channel in such a way as to hold both side walls of the guide channel yieldingly tensioned toward the slidable blade.

A further meritorious feature is that the slidable blade and its cooperating elements is protected by a cover plate and such cover plate also protects the plunger of the dial indicator.

Other objects, advantages and meritorious features will more fully appear from the following description, claims, and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan of a gauge embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic end elevation showing, somewhat exaggerated, the connection of a bevel undercut guide channel element with the supporting frame;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the guide channel ele- Such pressure will prevent undesir ice P ment showing the shape thereof and the undercut formed on a radius; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, showing a modified form of undercut as compared with FIGS. 6 and 7.

In the drawing the U-shaped frame is indicated as 10. It has two arms 12 and 14. A blade 16 is carried by the arm 12 and secured thereto at an adjusted position by screws 18 whereby its projection into the space between the two arms may be regulated. A cover plate extends over the heads of the screws and over the opposite side of the frame from that shown in FIG. 1. The edge of such cover plate is indicated as 20 in FIG. 1. It is an angular cover plate.

The opposite arm of the frame is provided with a blade 22 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which is slidably disposed within a guideway carried by such opposite arm. Such channel guide is in the form of a separate guide channel indicated as 24 in FIG. 2. Such guide channel is secured by two screws 26 within a channel cut-out in the end of the arm 14 of the frame as shown in FIG. 2. A spring washer 28 is interposed underneath the head of each screw 26 exerting tension tending to hold the guide channel 24 in place without play. The blade itself indicated as 22 is shown in FIG. 1 in cross-section and is also shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

There is a cover plate 30 shown in FIG. 2 held by a screw 32 extending through a boss 34 formed on the plate into the base 36 of the guide channel element 24 and by two screws 33 to the guide channel (FIG. 5). The boss is shown in FIG. 2 as extending through a cut-out in the blade, which cut-out is shown more clearly in FIG. 5 and is indicated at 38. The boss 34 has a flatted side as shown in FIG. 5 and a Spring 40 is mounted in the extension 39 of the cut-out 38 with one end bearing against the fiatted side of the boss and the opposite end bearing against the blade to hold the same projected toward the blade carried by the opposite arm of the frame.

The blade is shown as having a projecting end 23 which is of increased thickness as compared with the remainder of the blade. It will be noted that the blade adjacent each ofits two linear edges is provided with recesses 42 on both faces. The purpose of these recesses is that if the screws 28 were too long or projected a little beyond the inner surface of the base of the guide channel element they would, as shown in FIG. 2, enter these recesses rather than contacting the blade itself and they would not therefore interfere with the free movement of the blade. The reason for the provision of the recesses on both sides of the blade is that it may be desired to reverse the blade and have its heavier projecting portion 23 project in the opposite direction.

The cover plate 30 which extends over the slidable blade 22 has a portion 44 which is in the form of a socket adapted to receive the tubular guide 46 for the plunger 52 of the dial indicator 48. The tubular socket 44 is adapted to be tightened by screw 50 to secure the tubular guide for the plunger of the dial indicator securely therein as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The dial indicator 48 is provided with a shiftable plunger 52 which bears against the end of the blade 22 to be actuated by movement of the blade either counter its spring 40 or by such spring as hereinabove described.

A ball bearing assembly 54 is disposed between each linear margin of the blade and the adjacent side wall of the guide channel element as shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 5. The opposed edges of the blade are provided with ball receiving channels 56 as indicated with the dotted lines in FIG. 5, and the inner faces of the side walls of the channel guide :are provided with ball receiving channels 58 as indicated particularly in FIGS. 7 and 8.

As noted in FIGS. 7 and 8 a channel 60 is formed between each side wall and the base of the guide channel 13 itself, so as to increase the flexibility of the side walls in order that they may be tensioned toward the blade to hold the balls thereagainst.

The guide channel 22 has its side walls so spaced apart and of such a spring nature that they tend to hold the ball bearings 54 against the opposite edges of the slidable blade 22. The balls may be initially installed by springing the side walls of the guide channel apart and then loading the ball bearings in place between these ouwardly sprung side walls and the opposed edges of the blade. When the force of springing the side walls apart is released they spring back and hold the ball bearings against the edges of the blade.

In order to facilitate the springing of the side walls of the guide channel 24 apart for insertion of the ball bearings or to adjust the tension of said side walls upon the ball bearings following wear, it has been found desirable either to initially undercut the base 36 of the guide channel 24 :or to undercut the same following a certain amount of wear. In FIG. 6 the undercut is shown as a bevel undercut having its greatest depth along the linear center line and being indicated by the number 62. In FIG. 7 the undercut is on a radius indicated by 64. In FIG. 8 the undercut is in the form of a channel itself as indicated by 70 and the two opposite side walls of the guide channel itself are shaped as at 72 on a bevel as shown.

It is apparent that tightening of the screws 26 would draw the marginal portions of the base of the guide channel downwardly and thereby tilt the side walls inwardly toward the blade. This is shown in exaggerated form in .FIG. 6. Actually the extent of movement is very slight and it is believed that the wear will probably be so slight that initial adjustment will be period of use.

What I claim is:

1. A gauge comprising, in combination, a generally U-shaped frame having a pair of opposed arms, a blade mounted upon each arm adjacent to the end thereof and extending transversely of the arm and adapted to project into the space between the arms, one of said blades being mounted within a channel-shaped guide carried by one of the arms for slidable movement of the blade within the channel guide toward and away from the blade carried satisfactory for a long by the other arm, said guide being a separate channel guide element secured to and carried by its arm, a ball bearing assembly disposed between each side wall of the channel guide and the adjacent edge of the slidable blade, said channel guide having the outer surface of the bottom portion thereof undercut between the outer side margins of the guide, and means extending between the undercut bottom of the channel guide and the frame adjustable to draw the undercut bottom of the guide toward the frame to urge one side wall of the guide channel inwardly toward the opposite side wall thereof.

2. A gauge as defined in claim numbered 1 characterized in that the means extending between the undercut bottom of the channel guide and the frame and which is adjustable to draw the undercut bottom of the guide toward the frame urges both side walls of the guide inwardly toward each other to support the blade for desired guided slidable travel between the bearings disposed between the side margins of the blade and the tensioned side walls of the guide channel.

3. A gauge as defined in claim numbered 1 characterized in that the undercut outer surface of the bottom portion of the channel guide is undercut from adjacent to the two opposite side margins thereof sloping inwardly toward a linear mid-point center line therebetween and increasing in depth as it approaches said linear midpoint center line therebetween.

4. A gauge as defined in claim numbered 1 characterized in that the means extending between the undercut bottom of the channel guide and the frame is in the form of two screws connecting the arm of the frame with the undercut bottom portion of the channel guide on opposite sides of the linear center line of the channel guide and the screw openings extend entirely through the undercut bottom portion of the guide and the slidable blade disposed within the channel guide is undercut on its bottom face linearly in linewith each of said screw openings.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,748 2/1918 Von Post 308-6 2,352,911 7/1944 Osplack 308-6 X 2,876,550 3/1959 Tomkow 33147 3,142,907 8/1964 Reef 33147 3,145,065 8/1964 Cator 308-6 LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner. SAMUEL S. MATTHEWS, Examiner. 

1. A GAUGE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATIOM, A GENERALLY U-SHAPED FRAME HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSED ARMS, A BLADE MOUNTED UPON EACH ARM ADJACENT TO THE END THEREOF AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE ARM AND ADAPTED TO PROJECT INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN THE ARMS, ONE OF SAID BLADES BEING MOUNTED WITHIN A CHANNEL-SHAPED GUIDE CARRIED BY ONE OF THE ARMS FOR SLIDABLE MOVEMENT OF THE BLADE WITHIN THE CHANNEL GUIDE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE BLADE CARRIED BY THE OTHER ARM, SAID GUIDE BEING A SEPARATE CHANNEL GUIDE ELEMENT SECURED TO AND CARRIED BY ITS ARM, A BALL BEARING ASSEMBLY DISPOSED BETWEEN EACH SIDE WALL OF THE CHANNEL GUIDE AND THE ADJACENT EDGE OF THE SLIDABLE BLADE, SAID CHANNEL GUIDE HAVING THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE BOTTOM PORTION THEREOF UNDERCUT BETWEEN THE OUTER SIDE MARGINS OF THE GUIDE, AND MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE UNDERCUT BOTTOM OF THE CHANNEL GUIDE AND THE FRAME ADJUSTABLE TO DRAW THE UNDERCUT BOTTOM OF THE GUIDE TOWARD THE FRAME TO URGE ONE SIDE WALL OF THE GUIDE CHANNEL INWARDLY TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SIDE WALL THEREOF. 